RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
With four top-10 teams idle this weekend, Curt Cignetti’s Indiana squad seized the spotlight and made the most of it.
The Hoosiers dominated No. 9 Illinois in a primetime statement win that has once again put them on the national radar. Now 15–2 under Cignetti, Indiana’s only losses have come against the two teams that played for last year’s national championship.
The win was Indiana’s first victory over a top-10 opponent since 1987, when the Hoosiers upset No. 9 Ohio State. It was also the first time Indiana and Illinois faced off as ranked opponents since 1950.
Where do the Hoosiers land after their dominant 53-point win over the Illini? Here is a look at my Top 25 rankings following Week 4 of the college football season:
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Defeated Oregon State, 41-7
Dante Moore threw for more than 300 yards for the first time as a Duck, completing 21 of 31 passes with four touchdowns. Oregon put up 585 yards of offense — including 280 on the ground — while the Ducks’ defense held the Beavers to just 147 total yards.
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Defeated Florida, 26-7
Despite a poor showing by QB Carson Beck, the Miami defense showed its prowess, shutting down Florida’s offense (141 total yards) and sacking QB DJ Lagway four times.
The Canes have another big test in two weeks when they face Florida State for what will be a clash of Top-25 opponents.
5. LSU (4-0)
Week 4 result: Defeated SE Louisiana, 56-10
LSU rode a 28-point explosion into a comfortable win against an in-state FCS foe. Garrett Nussmeier completed 25 of 31 passes for 273 yards with three touchdowns. The LSU defense allowed just 203 total yards and held SE Louisiana to just 1-of-11 on third down.
Week 4 result: Defeated Auburn, 24-17
Oklahoma’s defense sacked former Sooner and current Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold a school-record 10 times, powering OU to its second top-25 win in three weeks. Quarterback John Mateer added 300 total yards and two touchdowns in a statement victory over a fellow SEC opponent.
Week 4 result: Defeated Sam Houston, 55-0
Arch Manning bounced back in dominant fashion against the winless Bearkats, completing 18 of 21 passes for 309 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns in Texas’ final tune-up before SEC play begins in two weeks. The Longhorns’ defense was equally sharp, holding Sam Houston to just 115 yards on 51 plays.
8. Indiana (4-0)
Week 4 result: Defeated Illinois, 63-10
The Hoosiers led Illinois 35-10 at halftime and never let up. Facing their first true test of the season, the Hoosiers piled up over 500 yards of offense — including 312 on the ground. The defense was just as relentless, sacking Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer seven times and holding the Illini to just 1-of-10 on third down.
Fernando Mendoza completed 21 of 23 passes — including his final 17 in a row — for 267 yards, becoming the first IU quarterback to throw five or more touchdown passes in multiple games, all in just three quarters of action.
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Defeated Tulane, 45-10
Former Ferris State QB Trinidad Chambliss threw for more than 300 yards for the second time in as many starts while accounting for 419 total yards and two touchdowns in the Rebels’ victory over the Green Wave.
Chambliss, who got the start last week with an injury to starter Austin Simmons, has produced 834 yards of offense in two games.
Week 4 result: Defeated South Carolina, 29-20
The Tigers rushed for 286 yards — 6.1 yards per carry — while holding the Gamecocks to negative-9 yards rushing and sacking NFL Draft darling LaNorris Sellers five times in the win. No South Carolina player rushed for more than seven yards, while Sellers finished with minus-28 yards; his longest run went for just seven yards.
Week 4 result: Defeated UAB, 56-24
Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar threw for 218 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in a rout of the Blazers to get back in the win column after losing to Georgia last week. Tennessee scored all 56 points in the first three quarters of the game and led 42-7 at halftime.
Week 4 result: Defeated Kent State, 66-10
Florida State ran for a single-game school record 498 yards and surpassed last season’s win total. The Seminoles had as many rushing touchdowns against Kent State as they did in 12 games in 2024. Running back Gavin Sawchuck rushed 11 times for 97 yards with two touchdowns in the rout.
Week 4 result: Defeated Temple, 45-24
The Yellow Jackets rushed for 307 yards while holding the Owls to just 328 total yards in their fourth win of the season. Jamal Haynes needed only 12 carries to surpass 100 rushing yards, including a 47-yard run. Georgia Tech now enters conference play in earnest as a contender for the ACC Championship.
Week 4 result: Lost to Indiana, 63-10
The Illini learned how much further they have to go before they can compete at the level of Indiana. Luke Altmyer was sacked seven times while completing 14 of 22 passes for just 146 yards. The offense rushed for just three yards in the first half of the worst loss of Bret Bielema’s tenure at Illinois and the program’s worst loss since 2018.
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Defeated Nebraska, 30-27
Justice Haynes rushed for 149 yards on 17 rushes in a game where QB Bryce Underwood struggled to throw the ball. Underwood completed 12 of 22 passes for 105 yards, but the freshman signal-caller added 66 yards and a score on the ground.
Week 4 result: Defeated Utah 34-10
After taking a hard hit that forcibly snapped his head backward in the third quarter, Behren Morton left the game and would not return.
Will Hammond entered the contest and completed 10 of his first 13 pass attempts for 124 yards with a touchdown. He finished the game with 236 total yards and two scores, but more importantly, the offense ran smoothly as Tech scored 24 points in the fourth quarter alone with the redshirt freshman behind center.
Week 4 result: Defeated South Carolina State, 63-14
The Bulls made light work out of their FCS opponent with 504 yards of offense — 252 yards passing, 252 yards rushing — punctuated with a 35-point outburst in the third quarter alone.
Week 4 result: Idle
Week 4 result: Defeated Georgia State, 42-9
The win was workmanlike and decisive — exactly the kind of performance you’d expect from a ranked SEC team facing a Group of 6 opponent. That’s who Vanderbilt is now. The Panthers rushed for a total of 36 yards and amassed just 148 total yards while the Commodores remained unbeaten with another good performance from Diego Pavia, who completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown.
Week 4 result: Lost to Oklahoma, 24-17
The Tigers could not keep QB Jackson Arnold upright in a game that meant so much to him that he did not participate in interviews in the week leading up to it. Still, he managed to give Auburn a fleeting one-point lead late that the defense could not hold. Arnold finished 21 of 32 for 220 yards with a touchdown, and sophomore Cam Coleman caught three passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
24. USC (4-0)
Week 4 result: Defeated Michigan State, 45-31
Jayden Maiava completed 20 of 26 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns, adding two more scores on the ground in USC’s impressive win over the Spartans. The Trojans had more than 500 yards of total offense and improved to 4-0 ahead of next weekend’s matchup with Illinois.
Week 4 result: Defeated Purdue, 56-30
The Fighting Irish won their first game of the season following losses to two top-10 opponents. Notre Dame QB CJ Carr completed 10 of 12 passes for 223 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Jeremiyah Love rushed for 157 yards with two touchdowns, and wide receiver Jordan Faison caught five passes for 105 yards with a touchdown.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
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